Indictment Charges Oxford Resident with Operating Ponzi Scheme

Indictment Charges Oxford Resident with Operating Ponzi Scheme

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging ROBERT E. LEE, JR., 50, of Oxford, with five counts of wire fraud stemming from his alleged operation of a Ponzi scheme. The indictment was returned on October 7, 2014.

As alleged in the indictment and other court documents, LEE was employed as a broker and financial advisor for various financial investment firms until July 2013 when he was terminated by his most recent employer, Rockwell Global Capital, LLC. Between January 2011 and March 2014, LEE defrauded individuals by claiming that he was investing their money in various investment vehicles when, in fact, he was maintaining custody of their funds in his personal bank account. He then used the money to make distributions to other investors, and for personal expenses. To conceal the scheme, LEE fabricated account statements and other documents, which he delivered to his victims.

LEE was arrested on a criminal complaint on May 12, 2014. He is currently released on a $250,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in Bridgeport federal court on October 14 at 11 a.m. before Magistrate William I. Garfinkel. Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $358,077.17 that LEE held in an online trading account at the time of his arrest, and which has been seized by the government.

This matter has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford.

U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and Christopher M. Mattei.

Citizens with information that may be helpful to this ongoing investigation are encouraged to contact the FBI at (203) 777-6311.